City council incumbents face criticism at first election forum

Friday

Residents who grilled Columbia City Council candidates on Thursday used those words to describe how they feel about the council’s priorities for public tax dollars.

“There is a trust problem,” a woman who did not give her name told the candidates. “I was personally very hurt when you approved funds” to expand Flat Branch Park “and did not use funds that were designated for parks.”

The critical tone against incumbent council members dominated an evening forum hosted by the Columbia Board of Realtors, during which candidates for the Second and Sixth wards answered questions ahead of the April election for those seats. Second Ward Councilman Michael Trapp is running for re-election against Paul Love, a network administrator for Carfax, who three years ago lost a bid for the seat. Sixth Ward Councilwoman Betsy Peters will not have a challenger on the ballot, though she attended the forum.

Initially asked a question about tax increment financing by moderator David Lile of KFRU, Love used his 30-second answer to the evening’s first question to attack Trapp. The most recent TIF project the council approved will add a second tower to the Broadway Hotel, which Love noted Trapp voted in favor of.

Love said Trapp should have recused himself from that vote because hotel owner Dave Parmley sits on the board of directors for the Downtown Community Improvement District, which hired Trapp to conduct outreach with homeless individuals. The Downtown CID approved a $26,000 contract with Trapp after a public bidding process.

This “is one of the reasons why I’m running — I don’t support crony councilmen,” Love said.

Responding to Love’s criticism instead of Lile’s question about TIF, Trapp defended his vote and said there was no conflict of interest because the contract was earned fairly. He has years of experience assisting people in need, he said, and his bid was 30 percent lower than the only other bidder.

“I’m deeply offended by my opponent’s rash accusation,” Trapp said. “He has a long history of these kinds of behaviors — he has said the university are terrorists.”

Several members of the crowd who stood to ask questions similarly targeted incumbents with criticisms and questions, largely about public distrust in local government. The Flat Branch Park comment was followed by a question about why the council spent money not earmarked for parks on a $1.1 million purchase to expand Flat Branch Park.

Peters said it seemed like an appropriate use of city money at the time. Money used to purchase the land was interest that had accrued on an account holding capital improvement project money.

Peters said she voted to use non-parks tax money on the purchase because it served a greater purpose than just adding more park land. She said her understanding from talking to police and other officials was that opening up the park to Providence Road is expected to reduce the homeless population using the area.

Looking back on his vote for the purchase, Trapp said he sees there were some “appearance issues” which were not adequately addressed. In addition to criticisms about where the money came from, other residents complained at the time of the vote that the land was previously part of stymied plans by CVS Pharmacy to build a store downtown.

“Upon reflection, I probably would have gone another way,” Trapp said, also noting the park vote isn’t the only one he has reconsidered.

Love reiterated that he does not trust Trapp to spend the public’s money wisely, and that is why he is running.

Continuing criticism of the current council, former Columbia police officer Sean Moore told the candidates he was frustrated by the council’s lack of action to address low Columbia Police Department morale and a “toxic environment” for officers. The department has struggled for years to stay fully staffed because conditions are so bad for officers, he said, adding that when he joined the force more than a decade ago it took three years because so many people wanted to join.

Moore pointed fingers at command staff for perpetuating CPD’s cultural problems, adding that the department has promoted all the officers “they should have been weeding out,” which drove away the “most ethical” officers. He said he would not name who was to blame in CPD “because we all know who they are.”

The city wants to ask residents for a property tax increase to fund more police, which Moore said it will not receive because the city government has a serious trust problem with the public. He asked the candidates what they will do to address all of the problems he listed within the department, even without additional funding.

Peters said Moore may be right and the city may not earn voter approval to collect additional property tax. Leaders would then just need to keep “honing in” on what they can do for officers with limited resources.

Trapp said he believes asking voters to raise property taxes is a good way to start improving officer morale, as the city would then have money to increase their salaries. Drawing from some items the police union asked the council for in the coming budget year, Trapp said officials are also considering other methods of increasing officer overtime pay, such as a fee for anyone hosting events that require a heavy police presence.

Many people say Chief Ken Burton is the problem at CPD, but one person does not cause a toxicity problem for a whole department, Trapp said. The city is also unable to fire Burton because state law bars the city manager from doing so if the chief has not violated the law or otherwise become unfit to serve, he said.

Love said it is a “staggering leadership failure” if 80 percent of the employees in CPD are unhappy. Further criticizing the council, he said giving the city manager a salary raise in the midst of an officer morale crisis was unfair. The best way the council can push to improve conditions for officers is by putting pressure on the city manager and giving an ultimatum.

“Fix it or ... find a new city manager,” Love said.

ccampbell@columbiatribune.com

573-815-1718

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.